Unlocked iPhone 3Gs are now available to users in Hong Kong

Apple is selling the iPhone 3G via its online store to customers in Hong Kong …

esidents of Hong Kong can now buy an iPhone 3G directly from Apple online, which can then be used with "any wireless carrier." Translation: Unlocked iPhones for one and all! Well, sort of. Presumably, that only means Hong Kong carriers, since activation is still done via iTunes.

The Apple Online Store for Hong Kong has unlocked, but expensive, iPhone 3Gs in stock and ready to ship.

Naturally, the unlocked and unsubsidized phones cost significantly more than subsidized phones that are locked to a particular carrier. An 8GB iPhone 3G will run you HK$5,400 (US$695) and a 16GB model will cost (US$797). Subsidized iPhones from Hong Kong carrier Hutchison start at HK$2,938 (US$378).

An Apple spokesperson told Macworld that "[c]ustomer response to the iPhone 3G has been off the charts, and we are thrilled to offer our customers in Hong Kong another way to get their hands on this revolutionary device." Still, that spokesperson wouldn't comment on whether iPhone 3G would be available online in other countries. Though contract-free iPhones are available in some other countries, Neither AT&T nor Apple have yet to offer any to customers in the US.